


New Kid

by GlitteringCat



Category: Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: Coming Out, Highschool AU, M/M, nerd!Carlos, punk!Cecil
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-06
Updated: 2015-05-09
Packaged: 2018-03-21 12:37:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3692571
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GlitteringCat/pseuds/GlitteringCat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I wanted to try writing a slightly longer fic so here's a highschool fic with a little angst and a lotta fluff. Thanks for reading! :3</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Cecil is so cool...?

Cecil was a punk. That was all there was to it. He wore band shirts and skinny jeans and his hair was hardly ever the same color for more than a month or two. He knew who he was and it definitely was not a nerd. Nope. He had worked really hard his freshman year to change his appearance and get rid of his former self. No way he would fall back into his old nerdy ways... even if the new kid in his biology class was an adorkable geek.

Cecil shook his purple hair out of his eyes and frowned at his hands on the desk. Who was this kid with his perfect dark hair and cute dorky braces. How could you be so confident while being so damn nerdy? The teacher called role and Cecil watched the new kid stealthily. At "Carlos Sanchez" the new kid squeaked "here!" and some kids snickered. Oh great, his voice was as cute as he was. Cecil went back to pouting at his desk and grumbled a "here..." when the teacher reached his name.

Throughout the class he snuck glances, just observing Carlos who seemed so comfortable in his own skin. When the bell for next period rang he hung back and waited for him to leave first. Carlos' backpack was huge and covered in buttons from all kinds of video games and movies. Cecil laughed quietly at his little sounds of distress from the overly heavy bag and put his own notebook and pencil into the empty backpack on his chair. That's all he needed for classes, despite teachers insisting otherwise.

Cecil followed behind him for a bit on his way to his next class. Carlos stopped and pulled out a schedule. Cecil tried to casually walk by but Carlos saw him. “Oh hey! You were in the last class with me, could you tell me where Gym class is?” Carlos handed Cecil his schedule when Cecil didn’t talk, just shrugging and offering his hand for it.

He glanced down the page, so Carlos had a few classes with him, including gym for next period. “Ah, I have gym next class too, just follow me newbie,” Cecil flipped his hair and started walking, really trying to solidify to this kid that he was cool.

Carlos just watched him for a second and then seemed to snap out of it, following behind. He had always been in the friendly nerdy crowd so he wasn’t sure how to interact with the more aloof, cool kids. “S-so… did you grow up here?” Carlos sped up to walk in stride with Cecil, having to walk quickly because his legs were much shorter.

“Yeah, been stuck in this town my whole life,” Cecil said rolling his eyes a little, he didn’t mind Night Vale but the residents were kind of strange sometimes.

“Hm! My family’s from southern California; my dad got a job out here so we all moved, it’s an interesting town from what I’ve seen so far!” Carlos looked over at Cecil, speaking with much enthusiasm. Cecil just nodded and looked straight ahead, maintaining his vaguely interested attitude.

They made it to the gym and Carlos went to talk to the teacher about getting a locker. Cecil unlocked his and grumpily started to dress out for class. He hated gym with its stupid shorts and t-shirts totally ruining his punk aesthetic. He lined up with the rest of the losers on the basketball court and shivered a little at the light breeze. It was strangely cool for October in the desert. Carlos must have still been getting dressed since he wasn’t there yet.

A couple minutes passed and Carlos came trotting in wearing the really short basketball shorts that no one ever chose to wear, opting for the long baggy ones. Cecil blushed and hid his face, glad he was in the back, as always.

“Alright class, today we are playing racquetball. So partner up, get your equipment, and choose a court!” The tall PE teacher barked, pointing to the equipment cart he had wheeled out.

Carlos ran over to Cecil. “I figured we could pair up?” he said hopefully, seeming to not notice Cecil’s slight blush. “Sure,” Cecil shrugged, it wasn’t like he had any good friends in this class anyway. He really hoped he wasn’t being too aloof with Carlos. Cecil hadn’t been able to gauge whether Carlos was into guys yet but he still held out hope that he might have a chance. They grabbed their rackets and ball racing the other kids to get the furthest court where the teacher hardly stopped by; too far from his favorite chair and book.

They played, Cecil having to explain the rules to Carlos who had even less sports experience than him. Carlos was terrible but Cecil at least got to sneak glances at Carlos’ butt when he was serving. They talked a little, Cecil was never great at small talk but he tried. He found out that Carlos had went out with a couple girls back at his old school, nothing serious. Cecil’s heart sank and he didn’t mention his own dating history. Cecil was very guarded in revealing his sexuality to others. He had some negative reactions, mostly from his own family so he tended to just pretend he was straight.

Carlos was very chatty and he learned way too much about the kid he had only met this morning. So by the end of class he learned the names of all his siblings, his favorite video games, and random stuff about his schooling past. Cecil offered a little about himself but mostly just listened to his chatter. They finished up class and parted ways, Carlos beaming and Cecil offering a small smirk.

During lunch hour, Carlos met up with Cecil in the ‘rocker hallway’, as they called it, and Cecil introduced Carlos to the group. His best friend Josie nudged him in the ribs and raised her eyebrows when Carlos wasn’t looking. “Hey, shut up,” he whispered to her, “I don’t think he even like guys so…” Cecil grimaced and then faked a small smile at Carlos who was looking uncomfortable.

“Well, it was nice meeting you all, I was going to check out a club during lunch so… see you in Social Studies Cecil!” Carlos awkwardly sidestepped away and hurried off to the chess club meeting.

The rockers teased Cecil for a bit about his “little nerdy boy toy” ‘til he growled for them to shut up. “We’re just messing with you man,” said one of the Erikas, sticking out their tongue. The Erikas were part of Josie’s band/gang that she was the leader of. Gang was a loose term… they were more of just two troublemakers who followed her around and occasionally had loud band practices at her house. They were really freaking weird, in Cecil’s opinion but, whatever. Cecil heaved a big sigh as he sat down with them all in the hallway and picked at the fraying edge of his shoe, face sour.

“Cecil, you okay?” Josie leaned against his shoulder and took one of his hands in hers.

“Yeah, I just….” He shrugged. Him and Josie had been friends since they were in first grade, she was the one who got him into the punk scene.

“It’ll work out, don’t worry so much” She soothed, her voice soothing him, “Your polish is wearing off, you’ll have to come over so I can re-do it.” Josie inspected his nails, picking at the flaking black nail polish.

“Yeah, maybe sometime this weekend…” Cecil said distractedly.

* * *

Carlos had made it to the chess club and was welcomed heartily by the other kids in there. The president of the club, Pamela, explained that while it was called chess club and they occasionally would play chess, mostly they just talked about video games and stuff. The subject of the day was Comicon. As a group they were planning on going for a couple days in the summer over to San Diego Comicon. Carlos lit up, telling them he was from California and lived near there but had never been. One of their parents was organizing it with a couple hotel rooms and a big van for the trip.

Carlos was super excited, he had never been to a con before and he was going to totally go if he could. In the back of his mind he wondered if Cecil would be interested, probably not, he was too cool for such a nerdy event. Still, it wouldn’t hurt to ask when the date got closer.

* * *

They finished up lunch and the last couple classes went by quickly. Carlos saw Cecil one more time in their last class, Social Studies. When school was over Carlos bade Cecil goodbye as he left to go turn in some paperwork to the office.

Cecil sighed and started his walk home. Today had been a good day, better than most, but he still had a heavy feeling in his chest. Carlos could just be his good friend, he didn’t have to like him back, it’s okay. Cecil told himself for the millionth time, shoving his hands into his jacket pockets.

He got home and went straight to his room, not talking to his mom who had just gotten home from work. They had gotten into an argument about his hair again and he didn’t want to see her roll her eyes for the millionth time. Cecil lay on his bed, hands over his eyes as he groaned at the unfairness of the world.

* * *

Carlos turned in his papers and waited out front to be picked up from school. His mom pulled up, smiling, “Hey, how was school?”

Carlos hefted his backpack into the back seat and then got in, “Really good, actually! I joined the chess club and they are planning a summer trip to a convention in San Diego, can I go? One of the kid’s parents are planning it and getting hotel rooms and stuff.” He smiled hopefully at her.

“Hmm, we’ll see… I would want to talk to the parents and get more details.” She shrugged a little and Carlos seemed happy.

“Oh, I met a kid named Cecil who was in three of my classes. He showed me where to go for a couple classes and we played raquetball in PE together. He has purple hair and is a little standoffish but actually pretty nice. I think he just acts tough to scare off people,” Carlos laughed a little.

“Well, you’ll have to invite him over after you get to know him a bit more. It sounds like he needs a good friend,” She observed, Carlos nodding thoughtfully. They got home and Carlos decided he would get Cecil to warm up to him, his mom was probably right, as always, and Cecil just needed someone with a different perspective to talk to. He blushed a little as he thought about Cecil but brushed it off as residual nerves from the first day of school and meeting so many new people.


	2. Confession

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cecil goes to Carlos' house to study, fluffiness ensues.

The next couple weeks were a good time for Carlos to settle in. He and Cecil became better friends and Carlos had his club of kids relate to that were like his friend group he had to leave in California.

One morning in P.E. Carlos was talking animatedly about going to see a movie with one of the girls in his club. Cecil once again felt like he took a punch to the gut. Seriously? He asked himself, pretending to listen to Carlos’ ramble as he argued with himself in his head. He thought he had gotten over his crush and now it was back again full force with a little jealousy.

“…and anyway, she was nice but had a really annoying laugh that was embarrassing during the movie. Oh! Cecil! My mom said you could come over today if you want, by the way. Since you said you’ve been having a little trouble in math, I figured I could give you some pointers if you wanted.”

“Huh?” Cecil snapped back to reality and Carlos laughed.

“I was asking if you wanted to come to my house today, was I rambling again?”

“Oh no, sorry, I just got distracted for a sec…. yeah, sure. I hate math, it doesn’t make any sense…” Cecil nodded and blushed when he realized he had been zoning out again.

* * *

After school they were picked up by Carlos’ mom. Cecil called his mom from Carlos’ cellphone and told her he was going to a friend’s house to study. She sounded suspicious but was surprised when Carlos’ mom took the phone, confirming that Cecil was telling the truth. “Uh, thanks Mrs. Sanchez. My mom usually doesn’t believe what I tell her…”

She waved her hand, “Oh, no problem, sweetie. I know how over protective mothers can be!” Carlos rolled his eyes at Cecil and gestured at her behind her back. “I can see you in the rear-view mirror Carlos, but you know that right?” She laughed, Carlos feigning shock and then joining in. Cecil cracked a genuine smile at their relaxed relationship.

They got to Carlos’ house and were greeted by his dad and a younger sibling, Rosa, if Cecil guessed correctly from Carlos’ descriptions of her.

“Hello Cecil, nice to finally meet you!” Carlos’ dad stuck out a hand to shake and Cecil took it, his hand getting crushed by his strong grip.

“Hi! I’m Rosa, I’m four! Why is your hair purple? It’s really pretty!” The younger girl said excitedly, bouncing from foot to foot.

“Nice to meet you both, thanks for having me over,” Cecil smiled awkwardly, but returned Rosa’s enthusiastic wave.

“Well, we’re gonna go study now….” Carlos shrugged and grabbed Cecil’s hand, leading him to his room upstairs. Cecil flushed scarlet and let himself be dragged to his room. This was normal, right? Friends could hold hands if they wanted to.

They got to Carlos’ room and he shut the door before Rosa could get in. “Sorry, boys only!” he shouted to her “We’re just doing homework, go play in your room!” They heard a muffled yell of ‘no fair!’ and then a raspberry outside the door before the sound of footsteps going away.

Carlos sat in his desk chair, scooting it next to the bed where Cecil sat, dropping his backpack on the floor. “Sorry about that, she always tries to get in here and is super annoying…. Anyway… did you want to start with homework or just chill for a bit?”

“Chill, too much school…” Cecil said kind of lamely, still flushed.

“You okay Cecil?” Carlos leaned forward a little, watching his friend’s face with concern.

“What? Oh um…” Cecil gulped, he had been planning to tell Carlos that he was gay soon, so why not now? They had become pretty good friends in a short couple of weeks and he didn’t want to go on pretending to like girls every time Carlos would talk about any kind of dating stuff. He didn’t like lying if he didn’t have to. Cecil clenched his fists nervously and pulled his legs up on the bed, sitting crossed legged.

He steeled himself and took a deep breath, “Yeah, um I actually have been wanting to tell you that…. I’m gay…” Cecil didn’t look at Carlos when he said this and was nervously tapping his fingers against his shoe. “I just thought you should know since we’re good friends and I hope we’re still friends. I mean if it freaks you out I can leave… sorry…”

Cecil said all this very fast, only looking at Carlos very briefly, catching a glimpse of his surprised expression. Carlos was silent for a minute or two and Cecil felt his eyes sting a little. Oh gods, please don’t tear up now, Cecil, he thought as he clenched his slightly shaking hands. It would add way more embarrassment onto the situation than he was ready to handle.

Carlos was stunned for a moment, mostly because that was the most words at one time he had heard from Cecil’s mouth in such a quick succession. “Oh uh, neat!” Carlos stammered, unsure at how to express how much it meant that Cecil was opening up to him. “Cecil, I would never make you leave because there is nothing wrong with you being gay. I was just shocked you said so much, I’ve never heard you talk that fast before!” Carlos was smiling and sitting up, waiting for Cecil to look at him.

“R-really?” Cecil rubbed the corner of his jacket sleeve on his wet eyes and looked back to Carlos, utter relief painting his features.

“Can I hug you?” Carlos asked randomly, Cecil nodded and blushed as Carlos gave him a short but firm hug. “Sorry, in my family we’re all about hugging. I’m glad that you trust me so much and we’re good enough friends that you let me know something so personal about you,” Carlos laughed and sat back in his chair.

“W-well… I guess I’ll also tell you I had… have a crush on you… sorry I didn’t tell you sooner...” Cecil scratched the back of his neck, not really knowing why it was Cecil confession time but he was feeling relieved at not keeping secrets from at least one person besides Josie.

“Really? But… I’m so… nerdy?” Carlos fidgeted with his glasses, his turn to blush, “So…. since some kind of weird bonding moment is happening, I should confess that I kind of like you too…?” his voice went up at the end of his statement like a question, his blush deepening as he shrugged a little, not meeting Cecil’s eyes.

Cecil was shocked, his mouth actually fell open, “What? But you only ever talk about dating girls, so I thought, this kid is definitely straight!”

“Hey, don’t judge a book, and haven’t you heard of being bi? I’ve never dated a guy but I can’t deny checking out some guys before,” He laughed nervously and shrugged once more as they made eye contact.

Cecil was flabbergasted. How could one feel this extreme array of emotions all in one day? From rejection to… whatever this was now. “So… um… I mean… could we…?” Cecil put his feet on the floor and leaned a little closer.

Carlos looked confused for a second and then got the signal as Cecil licked his lips nervously and edged forward. He scooted closer until their faces were inches apart. Carlos was the one to bridge the gap, pressing their lips together in a kiss. He could feel Cecil smiling and they parted after a few seconds. Carlos pulled back a bit to take in the real smile across Cecil’s face that he had only seen a couple times. He then leaned their foreheads together and they both laughed nervously.

Footsteps were coming up the stairs and they hastily jumped apart, Cecil grabbing his backpack and quickly pulling books out. Carlos’ door opened and his mom poked her head in, “Don’t even try to pretend you were doing homework just now,” she laughed, “start on it though, if you want to get anything done before dinner.” She shut the door and Cecil looked at Carlos, his eyes wide with fear.

“Did she hear us talking?”

“Nah, she only has a super sense for when homework isn’t being done” Carlos joked, glad to see Cecil’s shoulders relax.

“So…. now what?” Cecil chewed his lip, looking questioningly at Carlos.

"Well, if you want we could go out on an official date or something? This is all new to me though, I honestly have no idea how my parents will react. I mean they are all for gay rights but their only son?" Carlos said half to himself, wringing his hands as he thought of actually having to tell them about him and Cecil.

"We could wait a bit before telling them?" Cecil said cautiously, taking one of Carlos' hands, "I mean, I'm definitely not going to tell my mom... but we could see how this pans out for a bit...?"

Carlos shrugged but nodded in agreement. He never kept anything from his parents and something this big, and well, he was nervous but excited. He squeezed Cecil’s hand before letting go and picking up a pencil. "All right, let's get started on math!" Cecil sighed dejectedly.


	3. Part of the Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cecil and Carlos are officially a couple... well at least to their friends. Family on the other hand is always a little more tricky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little more angsty for this chapter but it was fun to write :3
> 
> Edited: I did a major overhaul of all 3 chapters so that the paragraphs were split better and edited some stuff to help it flow a little better

The next day at lunch Cecil and Carlos walked up to Josie, their fingers entwined. “Cecil?!” She laughed and jumped up, hugging him and then Carlos who was surprised by this display of affection. “I can’t believe it! Alright,” she pulled both of them down to sit in front of her in the hallway, “So… tell me everything.”

Cecil shrugged and Carlos rolled his eyes, “I’ll tell her cool guy. Well, Cecil came over to study last night and we talked a bit… crush confessions were made by both parties and we kissed…” Carlos said the last part shyly but Josie squealed happily.

“Oh Cece, you two are adorable! I am so happy for you!”

Cecil cleared his throat, a little worry in his expression, “Yeah… I’m not going to tell my mom and we’re gonna wait with Carlos’ parents… he’s not sure how they will react.”

“Oh, it’ll be fine, I’m sure,” Carlos said a little nervously, squeezing Cecil’s hand reassuringly.

The rest of the rockers came around for lunch, each congratulating them and offering support. Cecil got to finally introduce Carlos to Dana, who had been sick, tied up with schoolwork, as well as being in various clubs for the last couple of weeks and still hadn't got to meet Carlos yet. She blushed as Cecil told the anecdote of her huge crush on him when they first met only to find out he was gay. “We’re great friends now, though,” Dana laughed and then went to go sit by Maureen who was arguing with her friend Hector.

“You’re part of the family now,” Josie declared, her arm sweeping around the hallway at the collection of kids who made up the rocker group, “We’ll work on your choice of outfits later.”

“I just like to look nice...” Carlos feigned offense but nervously fiddled with the buttons on his shirt.

Cecil shushed him with a peck on the cheek, “Hey! My little nerd can wear what he wants.” He glared over at Josie who stuck her tongue out and then broke into a smile.

“For real though Cecil, I’m really happy for you two.”

* * *

Cecil came over to Carlos’ house as often as he could the next couple weeks, their study sessions actually helping Cecil’s grades and the kissing wasn't bad either. They kept it to a minimum so as to not get caught but it was getting harder for Carlos to lie to his parents.

“So, Cecil, what are your parents like?” Carlos asked a couple weeks after their first kiss.

Cecil shifted uncomfortably on Carlos’ bed and bit his lip. He didn't want to get into it but his boyfriend should know more about his own life since he knew so much about his. “Well, as you know my mom is disapproving of… my decisions in general…” He got quiet and pulled his legs up on the bed, hugging his knees, “ And my dad passed away when I was in middle school. It was cancer, and he died not too long after he was diagnosed…” A tear slid down his cheek and Carlos was immediately there to catch it with his thumb.

“Oh Cece… I had no idea…”

Carlos got up to quietly lock his door and move back to the bed. The last thing he wanted was his mom or sister bursting in at a moment like this. He pulled Cecil into his arms and rested his back against the wall of his bedroom. Carlos kissed the top of Cecil’s head as he quietly cried for a bit, the old emotions re-surfacing after a long time of trying not to think about anything too hard.

“I-I’m sorry…” Cecil muttered into his shirt collar, “I thought I could talk about it without crying…” “Shhh… shhh… it’s fine Cece, you don’t have to apologize for having emotions. I’ll listen to whatever you want to share and you don’t have to worry about me judging you.”

They sat there in silence for a long while, Cecil drawing in quiet, shaky breaths. He calmed himself and looked up into Carlos’ perfect face, “Thank you.” They shared a tender kiss and pulled apart, Cecil scrubbing at his puffy eyes.

“It’s just hard because my mom became distant and my sister was already moved out so she wasn't around as much to help after the initial few months. She comes over pretty frequently still but that means her fiancée also comes along…” His teeth gritted at the mention of his sister’s fiancée. Carlos kept quiet, letting Cecil say whatever he needed to. “That prick… he just comes into our lives, acting like everything is fine and pretending to be my friend or whatever. Fucking Steve, I hate his stupid grin and happy attitude all the damn time…” Cecil growled and then sighed, his head resting on Carlos’ shoulder.

They stayed like that for another long while until Carlos insisted they should get up and do some work to have something to show from today’s “study session”.

* * *

Later in the afternoon Cecil slung his backpack over his shoulder and Carlos led him to the front door. “Are you sure you want to walk home?” Carlos asked again, as they stood out on the porch.

“Yes, it’s fine, I’m literally like two blocks that way and the sun isn’t even setting yet, I’ll be fine. So... are you going to tell your parents…?” Cecil quirked an eyebrow at Carlos who shifted uncomfortably.

“Maybe next time you come over? I don’t want to be by myself even though I don’t think they will be mad…”

“I hope not,” Cecil snuck a kiss as Carlos was looking nervously at the front door and then departed. He waved, leaving Carlos flustered on the doorstep.


End file.
